Hit-and-run driver: I was texting at the time

Friday

Dec 28, 2007 at 12:01 AMDec 28, 2007 at 9:06 PM

The man charged with the hit-and-run death of a 13-year-old Friedman Middle School student told police he was texting on his cell phone when he lost control of his vehicle on Poole Street shortly after midnight Thursday, Dec. 27, Assistant District Attorney Aaron Strojny said.

Rebecca Hyman

The man charged with the hit-and-run death of a 13-year-old Friedman Middle School student told police he was texting on his cell phone when he lost control of his vehicle on Poole Street shortly after midnight Thursday, Dec. 27, Assistant District Attorney Aaron Strojny said.

The suspect, Craig Bigos Jr., 31, of New Bedford, told police he left the scene because he thought he hit a mailbox, Strojny said.

Marvin Machado said his brother had the most beautiful smile he’s ever seen and was always trying to make “everybody happy.”

He dreamed of playing football for the University of Miami and loved the New England Patriots.

“My mother’s been crying for the past two days. My father is just trying to get through it. We’re all trying to get through it,” Marvin Machado said outside of Taunton District Court following Bigos’ arraignment Friday morning.

“It’s a loss. There’s nothing we can do about it now. All we can do is hold our heads up and pray for him and hope to go on to a better day,” Marvin Machado said.

Strojny said the victim was riding his bicycle with a friend, who was on foot, about one or two feet from the side of the road when Bigos allegedly struck him with his 1995 red Ford Explorer. The victim, who suffered severe head trauma, was thrown about 66 feet. He was pronounced dead at Morton Hospital and Medical Center about an hour after the accident.

Bigos turned himself in Thursday afternoon. He told police he realized what had happened the next day when he heard news reports about the accident.

He called Taunton police at about noon and told them they could find the Ford Explorer at his girlfriend’s house at 137 1/2 Williams St., about a mile from the crash scene, Strojny said. The vehicle had damage consistent with the accident, he said.
Bigos told police he was on his way from his mother’s house in New Bedford to his girlfriend’s house when the crash occurred.

Bigos’ court-appointed attorney, Daniel Igo of Fall River, asked that bail be set at $1,000 cash. He said eight members of Bigos’ family were in court in support of him.
He said Bigos, a manager at a restaurant, has four children and has been with the same woman for 12 years. His girlfriend is a Taunton resident. Igo said Bigos has roots in the community and is not a flight risk.

He said Bigos “certainly would have stopped” had he realized he had hit a child.
But Judge Kevan J. Cunningham set the bail at $5,000, the amount requested by Strojny.

Strojny said Bigos “has been in court a few times before,” but has no convictions. He said Bigos was charged with operating to endanger in 2004, but that case was continued without a finding.

Strojny declined to comment whether alcohol was a factor in the accident.

Bigos was arraigned Friday on charges of leaving the scene of an accident death resulting, motor vehicle homicide, driving to endanger and failure to stay within marked lanes.

Marvin Machado said his brother almost never rode his bicycle at night. He was riding it that night because he was staying with a friend and they were going to visit two girls.

A friend of Machado’s wrote on her MySpace page a tribute to him: “no one ever compared to you and will never replace your spot in my heart. You were one in a million. We had the greatest times and laughs together. It’s hard to understand what happened considering I was just with you less than a week ago. I could tell you anything and trust you with my life.”

Hundreds of Machado’s friends have joined an online memorial on MySpace.com.

Taunton Call

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